Hyderabad: Closed pharmaceutical and chemical units, along with those operating without mandatory consent for operation, in and around Hyderabad have come under scrutiny amid a widening probe into manufacture of chemicals linked to fentanyl, an opioid drug. Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) on Tuesday ordered the closure of three units and disconnection of their power supply.Multiple agencies, including Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGNAB), TGPCB, Narcotics Control Bureau and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are examining the activities of such units. The scrutiny sharpened in the backdrop of the US indictment, filed last year, against a city-based pharma company and its promoter for alleged involvement in the supply of fentanyl precursor chemicals to the US market.
TGNAB sources said the focus was on closed units, units allegedly operating without valid consent, and small operators suspected of manufacturing precursor chemicals different from the products for which permissions were obtained.The crackdown also gained significance because of the wider international context. A March 20, 2025, indictment filed in a court in the District of Columbia in the US named a city-based pharma company and three of its senior executives in a criminal case linked to the alleged manufacture and distribution of N-BOC-4-piperidone, a listed chemical described as a building block for fentanyl. According to the indictment details cited in the inputs, the US’ Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) undercover investigation between March and Nov 2024 documented controlled sales and proforma invoices for shipments meant for locations in the US and Mexico. The clearest enforcement action so far came from TGPCB, which on Tuesday ordered the closure of three units and directed disconnection of their power supply, acting on inputs from TGNAB.
